


Half Moon

by Moontune



Category: The Dragon Prince (Cartoon)
Genre: Canon-Typical Violence, F/M, Gender-Neutral Pronouns, M/M, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Rating May Change, Reader-Insert, Reader-Interactive, Slow Burn, Slow To Update, Warnings May Change
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-11-05
Updated: 2020-02-15
Packaged: 2021-01-23 06:22:47
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,534
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21315619
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Moontune/pseuds/Moontune
Summary: Growing up like you did was hard. You were constantly hiding and always lying just so you wouldn't wind up on the wrong end of a mob. Despite the hate you would undoubtedly receive from the world, you couldn't bring yourself to hate the world. You wanted justice and equality, and so you sought the knowledge and power to bring true peace.Perhaps it was an unattainable dream. At least, you thought it was for the longest time, until you found a mysterious mirror hidden in Katolis Castle...
Relationships: Aaravos (The Dragon Prince)/Reader
Comments: 5
Kudos: 119





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Oh boy, here I go starting another project even though I have 162 other unfinished works. To be honest, I just wanted to get this started and posted before Season 3 dropped, haha;;
> 
> **The content of this story was written by AO3 user Moontune (@moon--toon on Tumblr) for non-profit consumption. Please do not share to other media platforms or view through unofficial reader applications - _especially for-profit platforms and applications._**

Heavy footsteps trampled through freshly-fallen snow as the sun slowly set below the horizon. A lone woman ran hastily to her friend’s cottage, located outside the village in a more remote area at the base of a tall mountain. The moment she reached the doorstep of the cottage, she decided against knocking, and slammed the door open in her frantic state.

Her friend was seated at the dinner table with her husband – an elf, disguised as a human through magical means.

“Tana? What’s going on?” She asked, setting down her fork and standing from her seat. Her husband stood as well, knowing from Tana’s disheveled form that something was most definitely amiss.

“They know – I don’t know how they found out, but the village…” Tana gasped, struggling for words as she tried to explain. “They know about him! They know he’s an elf, they’re on their way to come kill you as we speak!”

Eyes widening, the couple looked at each other in panic as they processed the danger they were now in. The wife glanced down the hall for a brief second before looking back at her dear friend.

“If that’s true, then you need to leave.” She said, “If they find out you helped us, you’ll be killed along with us.”

“But… will you be okay?” Tana choked out, eyes watering as the husband ducked down the hallway and into another room.

“We’re prepared for this, you may not see us again, but we’ll make it out.” Stepping toward her dear friend, she placed a reassuring hand on her shoulder. “Thank you, Tana.”

Wrapping her arms around her, Tana bade her friend farewell and good wishes, before running back out the door and into the dim twilight. Shouting could be heard in the distance, most likely from the village folk who’ve assembled a mob.

The husband ducked back out of the room he had retreated into, carrying a small child wrapped in blankets. He no longer wore his human illusion, allowing all to see his purple skin and long horns. The moonstone ring he previously wore to sustain the illusion hung on a silver chain as he gently placed it around his child’s neck.

The noise from the mob grew closer, and the light from their torches grew brighter. The wife removed her own silver ring, and placed it on the chain with her beloved’s on their child. The child, still sound asleep, stirred slightly as a new weight was put upon their chest.

She then pulled a short sword and a steel shield off its place above the fireplace, prepared to fight those who threatened the lives of her family.

“Get out through the back. The moon is full, so you’ll have a better chance of escaping them than I do.” She said, placing a gentle kiss on his cheek. “Keep our child safe. I’ll do what I can to buy you some time.”

He wanted to object, but he could hear the mob grow closer, and as he looked down at their child, he knew that there was no time. If he stayed, then all three of them would die. But if he fled, then at least he could save the small life that they both made together.

Ducking out through the back door, he held their child close to him as he ran. The moon wasn’t fully up yet – and as such, the mob was able to catch a glimpse of him before the light of the moon shined upon him, and allowed him to seemingly disappear.

As he ran, he could hear a select few humans give chase into the snowy woods he ran through. Arrows whizzed past him, dangerously close to hitting him.

“Aim for the footsteps!” He heard them yell.

He cursed under his breath as the freshly fallen snow gave his position away, and let out a strangled yell as one arrowhead pierced his calf.

Even so, he forced himself to keep running. Tears blurred his vision, but he refused to allow these humans to take the tiny life he held in his arms.

As he pressed on, running farther up the chilly mountain slope, he felt another arrow strike into his shoulder. He stumbled at the pain, nearly crippling over when yet another struck his lower back.

He wanted to stop. He wanted to collapse into the cold white snow, and bring the pain to an end. He knew that by now, his wife would no longer be breathing. But, as much as he wished to join her, he couldn’t allow himself to be selfish right now. This journey up the mountain wasn’t just about him.

So he continued on, slower now as the stabbing pain of the arrows refused to let him move any faster. Much to his luck, however, he could no longer hear the humans who had been chasing him before. It seemed that they had finally realised where he had been running to, and refused to pursue him up the Cursed Caldera.

Panting heavily, in the bright light of the full moon, he limped up the long, steep slope, praying that he’d find his salvation before he succumbed to death. Fortunately for him, he was able to easily ignore the frightening monsters and terrors that dwelled on the mountain, knowing full well what the really were. Illusions could never truly harm anyone, no matter how frightening or real they seemed.

The tiny child in his arms wriggled slightly, cooing in their sleep. It was miraculous that they hadn’t woken up during the chase, but he was thankful that they didn’t have to bear witness to such violence at such a young age.

After what must have been hours of excruciating climbing, his legs finally failed him, and buckled under his and his child’s weight. He could go on no longer, it seemed. He was hoping that he would have made it to the mountain peak – to see the Moon Nexus just one last time…

Just then, before he could allow his eyes to close for the last time, a bright shining light appeared from the clouds above, and a shadowy figure appeared before him upon a giant bird. Looking up at the figure, he smiled as they dismounted, relieved that his child would have a chance to survive and live on.

“Lujanne…?” He rasped out, shivering in the cold wind and relinquishing his transparency.

The woman in question knelt down, the light from behind fading and allowing him to see her properly. She stared down at him in shock and horror, eyes looking over the arrows embedded in his back before landing on the bundle in his arms.

“Please…” He struggled, holding his child out for her to see. “Please, help them...”

Slowly taking in the scene before her, she nodded solemnly and carefully took the small child from him. Looking own at their peaceful, sleeping face, she sighed softly before turning her attention to the dying elf before her.

“I’ll do what I can…” She said, speaking softly.

The child shifted slightly in her grip, causing the blanket to fall back and reveal the small set of horns growing upon their head. Furrowing her brows, she moved the blanket back over their head to keep them warm.

“Thank you…”

Blinking at his words, Lujanne looked back down, only to find him slouched forward, and no longer breathing. Tightening her grip on the child she was given, she stood up and beckoned for her avian steed to come closer. The large moon phoenix let out a quiet coo as it approached, lowering its head as Lujanne placed the child on its back.

Once she was sure that the child was safe upon the phoenix’s feathery back, she then turned to the deceased moonshadow elf, removing the arrows protruding from his body before lying him back down in the snow. Her phoenix watched her as she placed blue and purple moon lilies around his body, whispering a prayer for his safe passage to the afterlife, and praising him for the strength he exhibited for his child.

Clouds began to block out the light of the moon, and soft snowflakes then started to fall as she continued to surround him with delicate flowers. The gentle white snow clung to the fragile coloured petals of the flowers, and scattered gracefully over his body.

Finally, Lujanne stood up and stepped back to the phoenix’s side, muttering soft words as a gust of wind blew by. Petals from the flowers scattered into the air, and the elf’s body began to disappear into sparkling dust – swept away into the sky and dancing with the gentle petals and snowflakes.

Soon, there was no trace of him left besides the indent in the snowy ground where he had lied. She remained there for a moment longer, staring up at the cloudy sky above.

Taking a deep breath, she then turned and mounted her moon phoenix, keeping the child secure as they took off for the peak of the mountain. As she flew, she looked down at the small child, gently bushing her fingers over their cheek.

She couldn’t help but feel bad for the child. Not only did they lose their parents to the injustice of humans, but… Growing up as a half-elf, half-human would in no way be easy for them. They would face discrimination on both sides of the border, simply because of what they were born as. An illusion could only do so much to help them fit in…

She hoped she could provide this child with the bright future they deserved. 


	2. A Gift

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> You spent your entire life living on the Cursed Caldera, training in moon magic and mastering illusions. It was isolating, however, and you yearned to visit the human settlement not far from the base of the mountain.
> 
> It's also revealed that your mother has a surprise for you.

The sun shone bright in the sky above, warming the chilly mountain air. Drops of water dripped between tree branches and off newly grown leaves as the snow melted in the warmth of early spring.

You sat in a small clearing amongst the trees, leaning back against a bolder warmed by the sun as you read through a book. The book itself was one of many you had read countless times before – a tome detailing some basic moon magic. Illusions and the likes; spells that you have long since memorized.

Heaving out a deep sigh, you closed the book and looked down a certain path that led to the base of the mountain. If you strained your ears, you could just barely hear the faint sound of talk and laughter from the village located down there. Despite having lived so close to the village for so long, you had not once had the chance to explore it on your own.

Standing up from your rock, you tucked your book away into your bag, and hopped up into the nearest tree. Balancing on the branch you perched yourself upon, you then leaped forward to another branch, grasping it with your hand and using it to swing to the next tree. Clutching the thick trunk, you managed a firm grip on the tree bark as you climbed higher, until you were as high up as you could go.

Your head popped up from above the tree line, and in the distance, you could see the village. Smoke rose from the chimney of each house, the fire inside keeping the residents nice and warm.

On one hand, you were somewhat confused as to why there were people still cooped up inside their homes. It was a lovely day, with the sun shining and the birds singing. Why would they want to spend so much time inside when they could be outside, enjoying the fresh air and warm spring weather?

But, on the other hand, there was a part of you that wanted to be inside those warm houses, surrounded by people – no, surrounded by _friends._

You oh-so desperately wanted to go down to the small village, to speak with its residents and learn more about each and every person. You wanted to know how different everyone was from each other, what were their lives like? What kinds of food did they eat?

Squinting, you could make out the silhouettes of children playing in what was left of the melting snow, just outside the village. You watched as they made makeshift forts, throwing clumps of wet snow at one another.

Of course, you well understood _why_ it was that you couldn’t go into the village and mingle with the humans. As you watched the children play, you sighed softly to yourself, running your fingers over your horns and tracing your pointed ears.

Ducking back below the tree line, you sat lazily on your branch, swinging your legs back and forth. Pulling your book back out of your bag, you mindlessly skimmed through the pages, deep in your own thoughts. You knew you could probably cast an illusion on yourself, one to make you _appear_ completely human. But without a moonstone, the illusion wouldn’t last long enough.

“There you are.”

Jumping at the sudden voice, you snapped your book shut and looked down behind you to find your mother, Lujanne, standing with her arms crossed.

“I was wondering where you wandered off to… Though, I can’t say I'm surprised to find you all the way down here.”

Tucking your book away once again, you dropped down from the tree, landing in front of her.

“I'm sorry, I just… wanted to explore a bit.” You said, somewhat sheepishly.

She stared at you for a few more moments, almost in a calculating manner. Finally, she sighed softly, before turning to look back on the path up the mountain.

“I’ve gotten lunch ready for us. I'm sure you must by hungry.” She smiled gently back at you, as if she knew just what you had been up to prior to her arrival.

You nodded, walking up the slope where, farther up the path, Phoe-Phoe waited for you two. She chirped cheerfully at you when you reached up, running your hand over the smooth blue feathers on her head.

Walking around to her side, you patted her side before jumping up onto her back. Lujanne followed, hopping up onto her back and seating herself behind you, allowing you to relax as she called Phoe-Phoe to take flight higher up the mountain. Soaring through the sky, it wasn’t long until you reached the peak of the caldera.

Once Phoe-Phoe landed gracefully onto the stone ground, you and Lujanne dismounted and walked over to the dinner table. Phoe-Phoe was already digging into her bowl of grubs, while you and Lujanne took a seat at your table, ready to eat your own lunch.

You looked down at the cooked fish on your plate, thrilled to find that it had been the fish you had managed to catch yesterday and (probably) not just worms disguised as fish. Though, you weren’t quite sure about the few wild strawberries that sat on the side pf your plate.

Ah, well. You learned a while ago that you couldn’t be too picky about what you ate.

“So,” Lujanne started, “Did you want to talk about your plan to sneak off to the human village?”

You nearly choked on your food at that, coughing before successfully swallowing your bite of fish.

“I- uh...”

As you struggled to explain yourself, you heard her let out a quiet laugh to herself. Looking back at her, you saw her smiling at you, no anger at all in her expression.

“It’s quite alright, dear. I know you must be lonely, growing up here with only Phoe-Phoe and myself.” She looked down at her own food, cutting into her own fish. “I’ll admit, I have been overbearing in the past, but… those people-”

“They’re human, and they don’t like us elves, right?” You said, recalling the numerous lectures on why you couldn’t go down the visit the human village.

“Precisely. It’s simply not safe for you, they’d _kill_ you.” Lujanne paused for a brief moment to take a bite of her fish, before continuing. “But, forcing you to stay here… it’s not healthy. And it’s not fair to you.”

You were quiet at that, mulling over her words. She was right, of course. But... you felt stuck – trapped, even.

“I’ve thought about it, and there’s something I’d like to give to you once we’ve finished eating.”

Perking up at that, you popped a strawberry in your mouth. Well, now you were incredibly curious as to what awaited you after your lunch.

The rest of your meal passed in silence, and you cleaned up rather quickly afterward. Once you were finished, you followed her up to the Moon Nexus. This only stirred your curiosity even more; what was it that she had to show you at the Moon Nexus, of all places?

“I’ve been working on these for quite some time now,” She said, holding an ornate wooden box in her hands as you both walked through the Moonhenge. “I just wasn’t quite sure when the right time was…”

Walking up the set of stone stairs up to the Moon Nexus, you stood beside Lujanne as you both looked over the lake.

“Now I see, I should have given you these a long time ago.”

Placing the box down on the stone railing, you watched her open it up.

Your eyes widened as she took the pair out of the box, one in each hand. She then held them out for you to see.

They were decorative clasps, for elves’ horns. Only these… they were different. A small moon opal was embedded in each one. They were intricately carved, and you could tell they had been enchanted with a powerful spell – had she done this under a full moon?

“Moonstone may be more common, but these moon opals will retain magic much better. Any illusion you wish to cast on yourself will hold strong for as long as you wish.”

“Mom, I…” You were at a loss for words. Of all the things you expected, _this_ wasn’t it.

“You’ll be able to travel safely this way.” She said, her hands moving to place the moon opal clasps onto the base of your horns. Once they were secure, she waved her hand over them and the illusion then took effect. You felt it spread over your body, masking the purple markings on your face, giving your ears a rounder appearance, and rendering your horns completely invisible.

Looking down at your hands, you then turned your gaze up to Lujanne.

“You can go to the village tomorrow. Phoe-Phoe will fly you down to the base of the mountain in the morning, and will carry you back up home at sunset.”

Staring up at her, you immediately wrapped your arms tight around her. You could feel her tense up in surprise as you did, but she soon relaxed and held you close.

“Thank you, thank you_ so_ much.”

“This world is a dangerous place, young one.” She ran her a hand gently through your hair. “But you are strong. Your skill with magic exceeds my expectations, and there’s only more for you to learn out there.”

You almost laughed as she spoke, pulling away just enough to be able to look up at her in the eye.

“You say that as if I'm never coming back.”

“I know you’ll come back tomorrow, but I know that you also wish to see more of this world. I see how you look at the Xadian maps, and you deserve to explore more than just this mountain and the little village below.”

“Mom, please, you’re getting a little ahead of yourself, don’t you think?”

Stepping back, you both separated from each other as she simply smiled down at you.

“Perhaps I am.” She answered, turning to close the box and taking a moment to stare out over the Moon Nexus, the water shimmering brightly in the afternoon sunlight. She glanced back over to you, however. “Unless I'm not?”

You smiled at her, leaning on the stone railing and looking out over the Nexus with her.

“I think you might be.” You said, “I’ll just take things one step at a time. See how things in the village go.”

You were in no rush to explore the world. This Nexus, this whole mountain; it’s all you’ve ever known your entire life. You’ve still got the entirety of the rest of your life to explore the land.

But a part of you knew that, even if you managed to travel through Xadia, you still wouldn’t be able to show your true self. Your mother may not say it, but you knew that you were no ordinary Moonshadow elf. You had an extra finger, and the colour of your hair and skin weren’t right. You may not have met any other Moonshadow elves besides your mother, but you had seen coloured illustrations and descriptions in the books that she provided for you.

Neither of you said it out loud, but you knew you weren’t entirely a Moonshadow elf. You wouldn’t be welcome In Xadia, just as you wouldn’t be welcome in any of the human settlements.

But, you were an illusionist. If you had to spend your entire life hiding your true self, then so be it.

Even if you had to hide it from yourself.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Finally, the next chapter! I was supposed to have this posted a while back, but the document had gotten corrupted and I had to start over from scratch;;


End file.
